Who will take care of my fifteen children? - Widow whose farm was destroyed for road project

Some angry farmers from the Juaso community in the Asante Akim South district of the Ashanti region are demanding compensation from the government after their farms were allegedly destroyed during road construction activities. The affected farmers have expressed their frustration over the lack of prior notification regarding the demolition exercise, which according to them has severely impacted their livelihoods.

According to a news report filed by UTV on June 21, 2023, the construction project in question is the Konongo by-pass which has resulted in the destruction of crops and farmland belonging to the aggrieved farmers who are into cocoa, maize, and rice farming.

In an interview with UTV, many of them stated that they heavily rely on their farms for sustenance, making the loss of their agricultural produce distressing. The farmers are now urging the government to provide them with adequate compensation for their losses.

One farmer emotionally stated, "We came to this bush to plant our cocoa, and they have come to destroy all the cocoa trees, maize farm, and rice farm. They have destroyed all the food that we will eat with our children. When they were coming to carry out the exercise, we were not informed. The government has taken the law into its own hands and given the go-ahead to a contractor to destroy our farms. We have about eight to nine children to feed. How are we supposed to manage? The government should urgently provide our compensation."

Another distressed farmer shared her predicament, saying, "The cocoa we rely on to feed ourselves and our children has been destroyed. They didn't inform us about anything. We went somewhere, and by the time we returned, everything had been destroyed. My husband is dead, so who will take care of me? Even with food that we would eat, unless we go and beg, who will we beg from? I have fifteen children. To whom should I go and borrow from to feed them? The government should bring our money for us so that I can take care of myself and my children."

In addition to that, a young farmer who according to him has invested in his cocoa after struggling to find work in Accra shared a disheartening account, stating, "I completed junior high school, and as my mother doesn't have money and my father is also dead, I went to Accra to hustle. With the little I earned, I returned to invest in a cocoa farm of about ten acres. Last Sunday, I received information that my cocoa farm and the maize farm, which were due for harvest, is been destroyed. I had even made arrangements with a buyer to purchase the maize on Monday, but they came and destroyed everything on Sunday. They even roasted some of my maize and ate it while destroying the rest."

The affected farmers are seeking prompt intervention from the government, emphasizing the urgent need for compensation to alleviate their hardships.

Angry Juaso Cocoa farmers demand compensation over destruction of farms due to Konongo by-pass construction #UTVNews pic.twitter.com/4Qso4GLKCW

— UTV Ghana (@utvghana) June 21, 2023

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